


Just Add Kittens

by chromyrose



Series: SASO 2017 [11]
Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Canon Compliant, First Kiss, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Homesickness, Kittens, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-06-28
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-11-20 00:21:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,472
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11324772
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chromyrose/pseuds/chromyrose
Summary: Otabek had changed since he moved to St. Petersburg; Yuri knew him well enough to see the change in him, even though he had a feeling no one else had noticed. With help from Potya, he comes up with a plan to cheer his best friend up, with surprising results.





	Just Add Kittens

**Author's Note:**

> Prompt: "you just picked up a baby/puppy/kitten and suddenly i want to kiss your face off"
> 
> I actually really adore this pairing, Otabek is such a sweet stoic boy (and the next in the legacy of wonderful Hosoya-san sports anime boys, so of course I adore him) and he brings out a wonderful side of Yuri. I hope you all enjoy!

Otabek had changed since he moved to St. Petersburg; Yuri knew him well enough to see the change in him, even though he had a feeling no one else had noticed. He still pushed himself in training, still treated others with a distant politeness, but maybe it was because Yuri remembered the look on his face over their Skype call, when Otabek was still in Almaty. 

“My coach thinks I’d do better under someone else’s tutelage,” he mumbled, lips pursed sourly. “He found me someone he thinks I’d thrive under, in Russia.” 

Yuri had wanted to celebrate, because it sounded good to him; a friend in his own backyard he could escape to when Viktor and the Katsudon were being unbearably disgusting. Otabek within arm’s reach, and not just an image on his phone’s screen. But Otabek was so dour, he made it clear he wasn’t in a celebratory mood. 

“So what’s wrong?” Yuri prodded. “Is Russia that unappealing to you?” 

“What? No. But I barely got back to Kazakhstan two years ago, and I hoped it would be for good.” 

Yuri hadn’t really known what to say, never having had to leave his home to pursue skating. In fact, he couldn’t think of anyone who had been tossed around as much as Otabek, from Kazakhstan to Russia to America to Canada – that would take a toll on anyone, even someone with Otabek’s mental fortitude. 

So now, the fact that Otabek seemed especially distant was of real concern to Yuri; unfortunately, it wasn’t the kind of problem he could solve by scowling at. After a long day of practice, Yuri went home and immediately flopped on his bed, physically sore and mentally exhausted from trying to figure out a way to help his… Otabek-person. Potya hopped up on the bed beside him and started to lick the exposed part of his cheek. In spite of himself, he laughed at the tickling sensation. 

“Potya, not now,” he grumbled, turning over and lifting his cat up so his tongue wouldn’t reach. “I know you think I stink, I’ll take a shower later.”

Potya mewled at him, his curious eyes trained on Yuri’s. Eventually he broke, and let the cat sit on his chest. “You’re lucky you’re cute,” he mumbled half-heartedly. Idly, Yuri stroked Potya’s soft fur until something clicked in his mind, and he would have leapt out of bed if not for the precious bundle on this chest. He stretched to reach his phone, which had fallen out of his pocket on the other side of the bed, and sent off a message: 

_Come w/ me after practice tmrw to get stuff for Potya_

_Okay._

\--

Despite Mila’s best efforts to scare Otabek about what Yuri was like around animals, Otabek didn’t back out of his agreement to accompany Yuri to the animal shelter; he was, smart enough to be skeptical. 

“What could you need to pick up for Potya from the shelter?” He asked as they walked away from the rink, gym bags thrown over their shoulders. “Don’t they only have adoptable pets there?” 

“Uh. Copy of her adoption papers,” Yuri lied. “I’m taking her to a new vet and they ask for that shit.” 

It was kind of a shitty lie, because Yuri’s acting skills were nowhere near the level of his skating skills, but Otabek seemed to buy it anyways. Yuri led him down the busy, brisk, late fall St. Petersburg streets, until they arrived at the shelter. At the reception desk, Yuri gave his name and asked for the certificate he didn’t need, and then casually added, “Is it alright if we go play with the cats while you get it?” 

“Oh, sure,” the girl at the desk smiled. “Do you need me to show you the way?”

He waved her off, already walking ahead. “No thanks. Come on, Otabek.” 

They headed into the back, carefully stepping over the dogs that came out to greet them, until they got to Yuri’s favorite section of the shelter: the kittens’ pen. He squatted down by the low wall to offer a hand to the kittens, a few of whom readily came over to sniff his fingers. 

“Beka, come on,” he repeated, this time more gently so he wouldn’t scare the babies off. “See?” 

Otabek knelt down beside Yuri, and in the small space that reeked of litter boxes his body wash was a breath of fresh air. He hoped it wasn’t obvious how hard he’d inhaled. 

One of the cats, a calico with bright green eyes, butted her head against Yuri’s palm, and he obliging scooped her up and held her close to his chest. Otabek was watching her, leaning a little closer, and the fringe on the end of his scarf caught the kitten’s attention. She all but jumped out of Yuri’s arms as she went to swat at the little strings, and it was fortunate that Otabek’s reflexes were quick enough to enable him to catch her. 

“She likes you,” Yuri started to tease, only to have his throat dry up when he looked up from the cat at Otabek’s face. He was looking at her so softly that it was almost reverent, lips parted in a silent gasp. The kitten squirmed and Otabek adjusted his arms so as not to drop her; when she settled down, playfully batting at the end of his scarf, he chuckled. 

Yuri fought to swallow.

“Hey there little guy,” Otabek murmured gently, brushing his forefinger along the kitten’s belly. “Having fun?”

“G-Girl,” Yuri coughed. 

“Huh?” Otabek asked, turning his open expression to Yuri. 

“She’s a girl,” Yuri said, voice cracking. “Male calicos are rare.”

“Are you alright?” 

“Yeah.”

Otabek stared at Yuri for a long minute, then turned back to the kitten. “Okay then, girl.” His soft smile was back. “I don’t think she and Potya would get along,” he commented. “They’d both want you to spoil them.” 

Yuri physically clapped his hand over his mouth to keep from saying the words that jumped to his tongue. He took a deep breath, then said, “Maybe you should take her home.”

“Me?” Otabek looked up again. “I don’t know the first thing about cats.”

The kitten, Yuri noticed, was licking and biting his finger, and he was allowing it to happen without so much as a wince. He didn’t even answer Otabek, except to raise his eyebrow pointedly.

“I don’t think I could…” he went on, letting his finger playfully bump the kitten’s nose. “I spend too much time at the rink, and she’s going to need a lot of attention…” 

“But you’ve been so—“ 

Yuri cut himself off, but it was too late. Otabek was giving him a quizzical look, his head tilted to one side. “I’m so what, Yuri?”

“So… so fuckin’ upset, lately, and I figured it was because you were lonely, and Potya helps me so I thought—“

“You think I’m lonely?”

“Aren’t you?” Yuri demanded, unnerved by the intensity of his own emotions. “You hate it here!” 

Otabek’s gaze dropped. “I don’t hate it here.”

“You didn’t want to leave Kazakhstan. Even though no one there comes close to keeping up with you.”

“Well yeah, I’m homesick. That doesn’t mean I hate it here.” Otabek responded seriously. Then, dropping his voice down lower, “And I’m definitely not lonely. You’re here.”

Yuri’s breath shuddered out of him, and he found himself leaning closer to Otabek. When his mind caught up to what his body intended to do, he shut his eyes tight, but just as fiercely grabbed Otabek by his short hair and mashed their mouths together. He felt the hum of the noise Otabek made against his skin, but just when he’d convinced himself to pull away, Otabek’s fingers were tangling in hair, and his mouth yielded to Yuri’s fervency.  
It was the calico’s mewling and scratching at their bellies that made Yuri pull away, unsure of how much time had passed while they kissed. Otabek blinked, then attended to the kitten, cradling her carefully in his palms and depositing her back in the pen with her littermates. 

“How…” he started, before clearing his throat. Yuri could see color creeping in Otabek’s cheeks. “How long have you wanted to do that…?”

“I don’t know,” Yuri answered honestly, pushing his hair out of his face. Not only was Otabek not mad, not only did he kiss back, but this was the first time Yuri had ever seen him blush, and it was adorable. “When I saw you with the cat, I just…” 

Otabek laughed. “That’s what did it? Not me, but the cat.”

“Shut up,” Yuri huffed, hitting his arm. “You just looked all,” he groped the air in his hands as he tried to come up with the right word. “…Squishy. It gave me squishy feelings.”

“Squishy.”

“Shut _up_ , Beka.”

**Author's Note:**

> Be sure to check me out on [twitter](http://twitter.com/haikyuutiie), where I mostly talk about Yuri!!! on Ice and feels.


End file.
